However,tomato plant diseasesandtomato pestscan be a problem if you dont provide the right care or conditions.
Learn more about tomato blossom end rot to prevent this disorder from cleaning out your entire crop.
What Is Blossom End Rot?
The Spruce / K. Dave
It results in the tissue breaking down on the bottom end of the fruit, opposite the stem.
However, the problem isnt contagious and wont spread to other plants or fruit.
Just remove the damaged tomatoes as soon as you detect a problem.
The first sign of blossom end rotThe Spruce / K. Dave
One good way to do this is to work fast-acting agricultural lime into the top 12 inches of soil.
Its common in elongated plum and pear-shaped types (such asRoma tomatoes).
The disorder rarely affectscherry tomatoes.
Later stage blossom end rotThe Spruce / K. Dave
This deprives the plant of calcium at the critical growth period.
If you aretransplanting tomato seedlings, harden them off slowly with gradually increasing periods of outdoor exposure.
Plant in the Right Location
Provide adequatespacing for your tomato plantcultivars.
The Spruce / K. Dave
Water Properly
Improperwatering of tomato plantsis one of the leading preventable causes of blossom end rot.
Excessively dry or waterlogged conditions and extreme fluctuations in moisture affect the plants ability to absorb calcium.
Keeping the soil evenly moist but not soggy can reduce the chances of problems developing.
Fertilize Properly
Tomatoes are heavy feeders, but take care not to overfertilize.
Plus, thebest tomato fertilizersdont contain a high nitrogen content.
Too much nitrogen accelerates leaf development and diverts energy away from fruit development.
Both impede the plants ability to absorb the calcium needed to produce healthy fruit.
Eating the undamaged part of a tomato affected by blossom end rot is possible.
BER usually only affects half of the fruit, so you could cut away the blackened part.
This is only possible if the fruit hasnt also become further affected by bacterial rot or fungi.
Baking soda isnt a good solution for preventing blossom end rot.
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